


Perfection

by JJK



Category: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Roommates to lovers, and patroclus worries about the future, beach bonfires, graduation is upon them, just a fluffy little drabble, oh my god they were roommates, varsity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22913821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JJK/pseuds/JJK
Summary: Life after college had always seemed as distant and intangible as the horizon. He’d never given any thought to what he might want to do. Now that it was here, he was still just as uncertain. He wantedthis. He wanted Achilles and him, and their quiet little off-campus apartment, but soon that wouldn’t be an option.
Relationships: Achilles/Patroclus (Song of Achilles)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 225





	Perfection

**Author's Note:**

  * For [courageandcheer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/courageandcheer/gifts).



> I stumbled across this on my laptop the other day and realised I never posted it on here! (You might recognise it from when I posted it on tumblr a few years ago if you follow me on there). It was written as a birthday fic for Kim, so happy birthday again! (Even though it's nowhere near your birthday <3)

Perfection is fleeting. The universe tends towards disorder, and with every passing second, it hurtles towards chaos and destruction. It’s true what they say, that nothing good can last forever. It’s also true that nothing great can last too long. As Patroclus lay in bed with the sunlight streaming through the open window, and Achilles’ warm limbs tangled round his, he knew he’d found his little corner of perfection; and he wanted to hold onto it for as long as he could.

He tried to memorise the graceful curves of Achilles legs, the way his hair flowed like sunlight, the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, and the way his heart hammered a steady, comforting rhythm into Patroclus’ side. Dark thoughts and fears ebbed at the corners of Patroclus’ mind, but he pushed them back; there would be plenty of time to worry about the future later, for now he wanted to enjoy this.

He brushed Achilles’ soft blond hair back from his forehead and planted a kiss in its place, sinking back into the pillows and into Achilles’ warm embrace. Achilles stirred and grumbled as he began to reluctantly awake. An eye cracked half open and his face darkened into a frown.

“Is it time to get up?” his voice was thick with sleep and his words half formed.

“Not yet,” Patroclus assured him.

“Five more minutes,” he agreed, swiftly closing his eye and shifting to fall back asleep. A moment later his eye – the one not pressed into the pillow – fluttered open and a smile spread across his lips. “Morning,” he greeted Patroclus properly. He nudged forwards to press a kiss into Patroclus’ shoulder. “What time is it?”

“Nearly nine.” They would have to think about getting up soon.

Achilles’ groaned. “Put some coffee on and I might be persuaded to get out of bed.” He rolled onto his back and arched his arms over his head, mouth twisting into a yawn that arched through his entire body.

It was difficult to begrudge him anything when he looked like that, so Patroclus untangled himself from the sheets of their small double bed and padded towards the kitchen. He made it half a step before Achilles flung an arm out to catch him and pull him back in for a proper kiss.

“You’re the best,” he said through a sleepy smile, freeing Patroclus, and then ushering him off towards the coffee pot.

Their apartment wasn’t all that big, but the tall ceilings, white washed walls, and large windows made it feel airy. It was Patroclus’ favourite place in the world; he’d be loath to leave it in a few weeks. But graduation was upon them, and next year they would be expected to make their own way in the world. He couldn’t stand to think on that for very long before an impending panic washed over him. Life after college had always seemed as distant and intangible as the horizon. He’d never given any thought to what he might want to do. Now that it was here, he was still just as uncertain.

He wanted _this_. He wanted Achilles and him, and their quiet little off-campus apartment, but soon that wouldn’t be an option.

The coffee pot chimed and he poured out two steaming mugs, adding milk for himself and sugar for Achilles. Eventually it was the smell of coffee which dragged Achilles from bed. He appeared in the arched doorway with the bedsheet draped around him like a toga. He stumbled towards a chair at their little dining table and gulped it down eagerly.

Patroclus remembered the first time they’d tried coffee, as a desperate attempt to survive mid-terms in first year. They’d bought the cheapest jar of instant stuff they could find and brewed it in the dorm kitchens. It had been bitter and smoky, snapping at the back of their throats and making them wince. They’d looked at each other and laughed, deciding coffee was not for them. Patroclus still wasn’t sure he liked it all that much – it always smelled far nicer than it tasted - but it was a habit now more than anything else.

He wrapped his hands around his mug and stared out at the view. From their window, the road sloped down towards the sea, and you could just about make out the swell of the waves through the palm trees and the gaps in the buildings; a deep block of blue that melted into the expanse of the sky.

“I’m going to miss this place,” Achilles said, echoing Patroclus’ thoughts. “It’s a shame we can’t just stay here next year.”

It was a thought that had crossed Patroclus’ mind more than once, but he’d never let himself entertain it for too long. “We could stay.” He’d applied to the school’s medical programme, and he was sure that the college would have kittens if Achilles offered to stay on a play sports for them; they’d let him onto to any post-grad degree, no questions asked.

Achilles frowned at him. “I thought you wanted to go to Penn Med?”

Patroclus huffed a laugh. “Yeah, if I get in.” Which wasn’t likely. He’d applied out of sheer wishful thinking, not because he actually thought he’d be accepted. He’d know soon enough either way.

“You will.” Achilles smiled like it was the surest thing in the world. He slunk back in his seat and propped his foot on the spare chair. “I think I could move to Philadelphia.”

Patroclus almost chocked on his coffee.

“The Eagles are decent, and interested, plus I look good in green.” He grinned.

Patroclus was struggling to keep up. For the past few months he’d been worrying about following Achilles. He never thought for a moment Achilles might follow _him_.

“’course it doesn’t matter where we go, I can run track anywhere. The Olympics are in a few years – I like the idea of winning a gold medal.”

“We?”

“You didn’t think you were going to leave me behind, did you?”

 _Quite the opposite_. Patroclus shook his head.

“Good.” Achilles smiled.

Somehow, he always made things sound so simple and straightforward. Patroclus wondered if Achilles ever worried about anything.

“Will you come down to the track later?” 

So that was it, their future sorted. Patroclus wasn’t completely satisfied, there were still uncertainties that plagued his mind – what if he wasn’t accepted anywhere, what if medicine wasn’t what he wanted to do – but it was too early to open those doors just yet. And if Achilles promised to be there, then Patroclus was content. In the end that’s all that mattered.

“Wouldn’t miss it. I’m meeting Briseis for lunch, but I’ll be down before you start.”

The college was hosting a final athletics varsity between the local rival schools. For months it had been all anyone on campus could talk about. It was a last chance for glory, and an attempt to entice promising sports stars to enrol in the fall. There was going to be a huge BBQ on the beach afterwards, and Patroclus had been both dreading and looking forward to it for ages. It would mark the end of an era, everyone would be departing in their separate directions, and for the longest time he’d feared it would spell the end for Achilles and him.

“You’d really move to Philadelphia with me?” Patroclus asked, still uncertain.

“Of course. You’re everything to me.” Sometimes it annoyed Patroclus that Achilles would be so blunt with everything he said, but sometimes it was wonderful.

=

That afternoon Achilles won the 800 metre race in almost the half the time of his closest competitor. He loped round the track, sweat glistening on his shoulders and his blonde hair plastered to his head, searching through the crowd of faces until he saw Patroclus. Vaulting over the barrier he bounded up the steps and pulled Patroclus to a fierce kiss as the last of the runners fell across the line.

The big screen lit up with a shot of their delighted faces and a rowdy chorus of whoops and cheers erupted round the stands.

“I love you.” Achilles told Patroclus, panting to catch his breath and ignoring the drops of sweat beading on his nose.

“I love you too,” Patroclus laughed, self-conscious. Achilles had been threatening to do exactly this for the past four years; clearly Patroclus’ threats to heed him off had fallen short this time. “Now _go_ , I think they want to award you something.” He pointed to the field where a podium was being set up.

“Right.” Achilles gave him a final kiss before sauntering down the bleachers back to the field.

Patroclus flushed and sat down, beside him, Briseis was laughing herself silly.

=

The sun sunk into the ocean, setting fire to the clouds and throwing a warm orange glow across everything. Patroclus fancied he heard it sizzling as it hit the waves, but that was probably just the sausages on the grill.

Around them students in varying degrees of inebriation danced on the sand and splashed in the shallows. A bonfire had been lit at one end of the beach, and wooden benches that looked like they’d been stolen from the school gym were staggered around in rough semi circles. Patroclus was sitting on one such bench, tracing the grooves in the bark under his fingertips, when Achilles sagged beside him. His hair was wild and his smile was beaming, threatening to crack his face from ear to ear.

He stretched bare legs before him, toes wriggling in the sand, his shoes abandoned somewhere during the course of the night. He looked carefree and beautiful and Patroclus wanted nothing more than to kiss him. As he did, a warm feeling of utter contentedness swelled in his chest. Practically blissful, he leant against Achilles’ shoulder and stared towards the sunset.

“Do you remember when we met?” Achilles asked, bringing a beer bottle to his lips and taking a swig.

“Of course.” Patroclus laughed. “It was the first day of college, you were my absentee roommate.” Patroclus had arrived, alone, and fresh off a five-hour flight to find his room half filled with belongings: a high school letter jacket draped over one of the desk chairs, stacks of suitcases on the top bunk and posters tacked to the notice board. Achilles himself hadn’t returned until much later in the evening, surrounding by a swathe of people and headed to a party. He’d looked resplendent in skinny jeans and a raglan shirt, his hair pulled back into a messy bun. “You invited me to a party, but I didn’t go, for some reason.” He’d made a feeble excuse, and then regretted it the instant Achilles left.

“Something about an early registration,” Achilles agreed. “But that wasn’t the first time we met.”

Patroclus snapped upright and frowned, heart hammering fast. “It wasn’t?”

Achilles shook his head and took another swig of beer.

“Your father hosted a sports day at Duke. Loads of high school super stars were invited to participate – you don’t remember? You were sat next to him in the presidential box, you looked so…intrigued by the events. You had the goofiest smile.”

Patroclus clamped his mouth shut defensively.

“Every time someone won you lit up like the fourth of July. It was the first time I wanted to win not just because I could. I wanted to make you smile.” He turned to Patroclus to gauge his expression.

“I didn’t think you remembered.” Patroclus had recognised him the instant Achilles had appeared in the doorway; which had been a problem considering he’d been harbouring a crush on him ever since that sports day. He never thought he’d ever see Achilles again, let alone ending up living with him. It had a taken a little while to get used to it. Sometimes he still couldn’t believe his good fortune.

“Of course I did. It took me a while to recognise you – you didn’t smile much that first semester. But then at Thanksgiving…” he trailed off.

Patroclus understood. They’d been messing around in the kitchen as they helped with the meal prep, Achilles juggling with the vegetables rather than dicing them as instructed. It was the first time Patroclus had felt happy in months. Then later, flushed from too much wine with dinner, whilst they’d been sitting on Achilles’ porch roof under the stars, Achilles had kissed him. And that had been the start of everything.

“I’d have smiled sooner if I knew that’s what you were waiting for,” Patroclus chuckled, and smiled; feeling a little embarrassed as it danced across his lips.

“There is it,” Achilles grinned and kissed him again, tangling his hands in Patroclus’ hair as the beach party raged around them and the sun disappeared completely behind the horizon. For a moment, Patroclus swore that the universe stopped spinning, and that the flow of entropy had been reversed. As far as he could tell, things were only going to get better.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated :)
> 
> Come find me on [Tumblr](http://trenchcoatsandtimetravel.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/astrobucky) and talk headcanons.


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